Putting Reagan and the kids first. The way he would do forevermore.
Of course, Luke’s resolve didn’t stop the mountain of cases that wound up on his desk Monday following the verdict. Luke was inundated with offers to defend every sort of religious freedom violation he could imagine.
A football player who had always pointed to the sky after a touchdown, now being asked by his athletic director to no longer make the motion. A school where a teacher was being sued for having a Christmas tree in the corner of her room, and a school with a pending lawsuit over the existence of a memorial rock. The rock had been placed on one side of the football field in memory of a teacher who had been killed in a car accident.
But the rock had a cross on it.
Now an atheist group in Ohio wanted it gone, or else.
So many cases, more than Luke could ever fight alone. And the good news was, he never would. God would go before him.
The way he had with Wendell Quinn.
? ? ?
REAGAN COULD BARELY breathe as she and Luke and the kids walked up the steps to Landon and Ashley’s house the Sunday afternoon after Thanksgiving. Tommy knew what was happening, but the other kids had no idea.
Tommy shared a smile with Reagan as Luke rang the doorbell.
Shadows moved beyond the glass on either side of the front door, but Luke missed it. The door opened and they were hit by the loudest, most joyous chorus of voices ever.
“Surprise!” Lights flew on and standing there just inside the house were all the people who loved Luke.
Not just the entire Baxter family, all his siblings and their kids, and John and Elaine, of course. But their friends the Flanigans, along with former basketball and baseball coaches who still knew Luke. Friends from high school and the church youth group.
More than seventy people filled the house.
Luke stood there, looking stunned, taking it in. For a minute or so he kept muttering. “What? I can’t believe this.” Then he turned and looked at Reagan.
At the same moment the entire group began to sing. “Happy birthday to you . . . happy birthday to you . . .”
The voices of the adults and children blended together in the most beautiful song. Even before they were finished, Luke came to his wife and took her in his arms. In a whisper only Reagan could hear, he spoke straight to her heart. “You did this . . . all of this?”
“I did.” She felt tears in her eyes. “I love you, Luke. I wanted you to know.”
He kissed her then. The sort of kiss that took her breath and made everyone break into cheers and applause. He looked at her again, the moment still theirs alone. “You are God’s greatest gift, Reagan. I love you with all my life.”
They kissed again and in that moment every minute of planning, every delayed concern about his work hours, every time she had taken the situation to God instead of complaining to Luke paid off completely.
Because Luke’s expression wasn’t just one of surprise or gratitude. It was one of love.
Beautiful, unconditional, forever and ever love.
? ? ?
LUKE WAS STILL taking it all in, trying to get his mind around the fact that Reagan had planned this surprise party for him. All the work and time and effort. The way his entire family had come together.
How was it God loved him so much, that He would give him a wife like Reagan? Someone who stood by him even when his hours at work had been completely unreasonable? Luke stepped back from his precious Reagan, his arm still around her. As he did, his dad and Elaine and then the others started calling out. “Speech, speech, speech!”
Luke chuckled, blinking back tears. “Okay, first . . .” He looked around the room at the people he loved so much. “This is incredible.” He turned to Reagan. “I never had a clue.”
“Well . . . I had a lot of help.” Reagan grinned at Ashley and Kari and Brooke.
“Still . . .” Luke felt his smile fade. “I’ve been really busy lately. Too busy.” He paused. “I’ve let the late hours become a habit.” He drew Reagan gently to his side. Then he looked at Tommy and Malin and Johnny. “At the expense of my family.”
The looks on the faces of his family were a mix of compassion and understanding. Luke pressed on. “I know better now. This”—he looked at each of them—“all of you. You’re the reason I’m here. God wants me to balance my time better.” He turned to Reagan. “And I will. From now on.” He kissed her again. “I promise.”
Another round of cheers and applause came from his family and friends.
Luke wanted to freeze how he felt right now, memorize it. Because in this moment, here and now, he could feel God’s grace. This wasn’t the response he deserved from the people he loved. But starting with Reagan, they had cared enough to stand beside him. To love him through the busiest season of his life.
Which maybe shouldn’t have surprised him, after all. Because like his dad said, standing by each other was what the Baxter family did. Whatever the situation.
Now and always.
? ? ?
AFTER THE GUESTS had left and it was just the Baxters at the house, the conversation shifted to Luke’s cases.
“People are running scared.” Luke set his fork down and leaned his forearms on the table. “They truly believe it’s against the law to be a Christian except behind closed doors.”
His dad sat at the head of the table with Elaine on one side and Brooke and Peter on the other. A sad look crossed his dad’s face. “Which is the opposite of how Jesus tells us to live. Sharing our faith and making it a light to everyone.”
Landon nodded. “Exactly.”
Next to Landon, Cole—Ashley and Landon’s older son—seemed to pay particular attention. He shot a look at Tommy, in the chair beside Luke. “Tommy and I have a plan.” Cole smiled at his cousin. “Sure we’re only in high school now. But in a few years we’ll be in college and then law school.” Cole looked at his dad and then at Luke. “We want to work for your law firm. So we can do what you do.”
Luke smiled. “I’ll look forward to it.” He put his arm around Tommy’s shoulders. “Couldn’t have won the Wendell Quinn case without God’s providence and a lot of help from this guy.”
A grin flashed across Tommy’s face. “That’s what I told Cole.”
The conversation continued; talk of how it was harder this past year for Brooke to renew her operating license at the crisis pregnancy center she ran in town. Something she did in addition to being a doctor. All of them agreed it was becoming more difficult to be a Christian. More difficult to live out their faith.
“We have to love people.” Kari looked at her husband, Ryan, and then at the others. “But we have to protect the truth, too. The Gospel deserves defending. That’s our calling.”
“Hard times are promised to people who believe.” Dayne set his napkin beside his plate and glanced at Katy. Luke’s older brother reminded them how he had struggled to find support for his faith-based films. “But now we have a good story for the investor. The one looking for a religious freedom tale.” He winked at Luke. “Inspired by a very real story.”
Katy smiled. “The day before we flew home, the team at Hobby Lobby agreed to help us with funding.” She looked at Luke and then the others around the table. “There will be hard times, but God is over it all. And we have to remember, this is just earth. That’s what my dad used to say.”
Luke listened as the conversation shifted to Ryan’s coaching and how the whole family planned to be at his football playoff game next weekend. Then the next afternoon everyone was going to help paint the crisis pregnancy center in Bloomington. Even the kids were excited about that.